Electric rail-bond.



No. 648,084. 'Patentad Apr; 24, 1900.

C. F. DE REDON. ELECTRIC RAIL Bonn.

(Application filed Aug. 24, 1899.)

(No Model.)

I J M).

rrnn STATES PATENT OFF ion.

CONSTANT F. DE REDON; OF NEW'YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF

PENNSYLVANIA.

ELECTRIC RAIL-BOND.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 648,084, dated April 24, 1900. Application filed August 24,1899. Serial No. 723,257. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CONSTANT F. DE REDoN, a citizen of the Republic of France, residing at New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Rail-Bonds, of which the following is a specification. Y

A rail-bond in which electrical contact is constantly maintained between the web of a railway-rail and the usual fish-plate without calling for any complicated additions to the ordinary railway-rail structure is what constitutes the main object of the present invention.

In carrying out this invention I retain the features which belong to all my inventions in railway-bonds-that is to say, I insure perfect contact between the relatively-moving parts of a railway-rail joint, such contact, however, being perfectly free so far as the natural movements of the parts are concerned and yet of the most positive character, because the contact is accomplished by the action of springs. In other words, I have a flexible yielding contact which is never broken and the pressure of which never varies, notwithstanding that the expansion and contraction of the rails are allowed to take place freely and that the effects due to the poundin g of the rail-ends are assumed to be present.

I have illustrated my invention in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a horizontal section of a portion of a rail, showing my bonding device bridging the said rail and one of the fish-plates connected therewith. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of a portion of said rail with my bonding device applied to it, and Fig. 3 is a side view of one of my rail-bonds detached from the rail and the fish-plate.

A is a railway-rail, and B and C are ordinary fish-plates. To make good electrical connection from one to the other of the said elements, I provide a plate D of copper, and I mount upon opposite ends thereof two heads E E of metal or other rigid material, and I connect the said heads to the copper strip or plate by means of rivets or by any other suitable means. Each head is provided with flanges e e, and a spring F, of steel, extends from head to head and is held at each end between the flanges. To make the spring effective, I employ a bent screw-bolt G, as shown, together with a nut H. The bent portion of the screw-bolt G extends across the spring F, and when the nut H is tightened upon the said bolt it exerts pressure upon the spring F and forces the copper strip D at its ends firmly against the web of the rail A and the fish -plate B, respectively. The same structure appears at the opposite end of the fish-plate, and by means of the two bonding devices good electrical connection is maintained from rail to rail.

The structure described is very siinple, and yet it accomplishes the result of making firm electrical contact from part to part and at the same time it allows suflicient relative longitudinal movement between the connected parts to allow for ordinary expansion and contraction, and it also permits of sufficient lateral movement, by virtue of the spring F, to meet the ordinary requirements of railway service.

In order to apply this rail bond to ordinary railway-rail constructions, it is only neces sary to perforate the web of the rail, as shown, for the purpose of passing the shaft of the screw-bolt G through it.

By reason of the length of the bearing of the head E upon the copper strip D at each end a great surface of contact is insured between the said strip and the rail and fishplate, respectively.

The invention claimed is- 1. The combination with a railway-rail and a fish-plate, of a conductor connecting the same, and aspring pressing the said conductor against both the rail and the fish-plate.

2. The combination witha railway-rail and a fish-plate, of a spring-pressed conductor bearing against both the rail and fish-plate, and a bolt extending through the rail and compressing the spring.

3. The combination with a railway-rail and a fish-plate secured thereto, of a continuous conductor making contact with both the rail and fish-plate, and a spring bearing against the said conductor at both ends thereof.

4:. The combination with a railway-rail and a fish-plate joined thereto, of a conductor bearing against both the rail and the fishplate, a cap or head on each end of the corn ductor and having a considerable surface or bearing upon the same, and a spring pressing upon the said heads.

5. The combination with a railway-rail and a fish-plate attached thereto, of a copper conduetor bearing upon both the rail and the fish-plate, heads upon the said conductor, a spring bearing upon the said heads, and a screw-bolt compressing the said spring, the said heads having flanges which project outside the said spring.

6. The combination with a pair of adjoin CONSTANT F. DE REDON.

\Vitnesses:

WM. l-I. CAPEL, GEORGE H. STOOKBRIDGE. 

